Lactic acid at Ascension SE Wisconsin Hospital - St. Joseph Campus

5000 W. Chambers St, Milwaukee, WI · Ascension · · NPI 1427007384

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Jan 1, 2026 · Ingested Sep 8, 2026

$49.29

Cash price

?

Discounted cash price

What a hospital charges a self-pay patient who pays directly, without going through insurance — usually well below the gross charge.

Example: A CT scan has a $3,200 gross charge but an $850 discounted cash price. Ask for it by name when scheduling — hospitals don't always advertise it up front.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$93.00

Gross charge

?

Gross charge (chargemaster price)

The hospital's full, undiscounted list price — pulled from its internal "chargemaster" price list. Almost no one actually pays this.

Example: A chest X-ray has a gross charge of $1,450. The same hospital's discounted cash price for the same X-ray is $180 — the gross charge mostly anchors negotiations, not what patients pay.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$11.57 with MEDICARE REPLACEMENT vs $48.40 with WPS — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

Negotiated rate

The price a specific insurance plan agreed to pay the hospital for a service — it varies by insurer, and even by plan within the same insurer.

Example: The same knee MRI has a negotiated rate of $904 with one insurer's PPO plan and $1,509 with another's — identical hospital, identical scan.

Full explanation →

Payer
?

Payer

The insurance company footing the bill — Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Medicare, and so on.

Example: "Blue Cross Blue Shield" is the payer. Its negotiated rate for an MRI might be $904, while a different payer's negotiated rate for the same scan is $1,509.

Full explanation →
Plan
?

Plan

The specific product an insurer sells — e.g. "Blue Cross PPO 500" — which sets your deductible, coinsurance and negotiated rates.

Example: Two people both insured by Aetna can owe very different amounts for the same MRI: $50 with an HMO plan's flat copay, or the full $1,200 toward a high-deductible PPO plan's unmet deductible.

Full explanation →
Negotiated rate vs. cash
MEDICARE REPLACEMENT 1321_MEDICARE REPLACEMENT INPATIENT 20251001 $11.57 ↓ -77%
VETERANS ADMINISTRATION 1323_VETERAN ADMINISTRATION INPATIENT 20251001 $11.57 ↓ -77%
VETERANS ADMINISTRATION 1208_VETERAN ADMINISTRATION OUTPATIENT 20250101 $11.57 ↓ -77%
MEDICARE REPLACEMENT 1205_MEDICARE REPLACEMENT OUTPATIENT 20250101 $11.57 ↓ -77%
SEHN 1171_SEHN 20241001 $12.15 ↓ -75%
CENTIVO NW3 1255_CENTIVO NW3 20250101 $13.42 ↓ -73%
CENTIVO NW2 1254_CENTIVO NW2 20250101 $14.12 ↓ -71%
CENTIVO NW1 1253_CENTIVO NW1 20250101 $14.81 ↓ -70%
UNITED HEALTH CARE 1282_UNITED HEALTH CARE 20250701 $14.84 ↓ -70%
UNITED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH 605_UNITED HEALTH CARE BEHAVIORAL 20171024 $14.84 ↓ -70%
SMART HEALTH 1317_SMARTHEALTH INPATIENT 20251001 $16.20 ↓ -67%
SMART HEALTH 1206_SMARTHEALTH OUTPATIENT 20250101 $16.20 ↓ -67%
ANTHEM BLUE CONNECTION 1277_ANTHEM BLUE CONNECTION 20250701 $16.20 ↓ -67%
ANTHEM PATHWAYS 1242_ANTHEM PATHWAYS 20250101 $16.43 ↓ -67%
NETWORK HEALTH 1289_NETWORK HEALTH PLAN 20250701 $17.67 ↓ -64%
ANTHEM HMO POS 1275_ANTHEM HMO POS 20250701 $17.93 ↓ -64%
CCHP 1280_CCHP 20250701 $21.97 ↓ -55%
ALLIANCE 1166_ALLIANCE 20241001 $24.74 ↓ -50%
ANTHEM PPO 1276_ANTHEM PPO 20250701 $27.19 ↓ -45%
WPS 1272_WISCONSIN PHYSICIAN SERVICES PPO 20250701 $48.40 ↓ -2%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Lactic acid at other Wisconsin hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital - Milwaukee Campus (Columbia St. Mary's Hospital Milwaukee, Inc.) Milwaukee $71.55 $11.57 – $47.00
Ascension St. Francis Hospital, Inc. Milwaukee $49.29 $11.57 – $48.40
Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital - Ozaukee Campus (Columbia St. Mary's Hospital Milwaukee, Inc.) Mequon $71.55 $11.57 – $47.00
UnityPoint Health - Meriter Hospital Madison $142.32 $6.94 – $55.50
Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin, LLC Glendale $48.76 $11.22 – $19.14
SSM Health St. Clare Hospital - Baraboo Baraboo $122.10 $8.68 – $106.16
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Janesville Janesville $146.85 $8.68 – $84.94
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Madison Madison $102.30 $8.68 – $86.88

All Wisconsin hospitals for this procedure →